For his eighth birthday, Emilio Scotto received a World Atlas. Promptly he announced his plan to make a route that would pass through all the countries of the world, a route he named BLUE ROAD ONE. When, some years later, he found himself astride a black 1100 Honda Gold Wing motorcycle, Blue Road One beckoned, and Scotto set off on a journey that would last more than a decade, take him virtually everywhere in the world, and land him in the Guinness Book of World Records. This is his story, a thrill ride that begins in his native Argentina, crosses Panama in the tumultuous time of Noriega, Mexico in the midst of an earthquake, and finds him broke in L.A. where, in a chance meeting, Muhammad Ali gives him fifty dollars and a signed book. Breaching the Iron Curtain, crossing the Berlin Wall at Checkpoint Charlie, being blessed by the Pope, set upon by cannibals in Sierra Leone, fleeing Somalia on a freighter, Scotto’s adventures would be unbelievable if they weren’t true. His tale of touring the world from Tunisia to Turkey, Petra to Afghanistan, Yugoslavia to Singapore, traveling miles enough to take him to the moon and back, is unlike any ever told. Come along, for the ride of a lifetime.

Hopping aboard the Black Princess, his 1980 Honda Gold Wing, Emilio Scotto set out on a record-breaking world tour that lasted more than a decade. He began by exploring his native South America, followed by Central America, Mexico, and the United States. From there he went to Europe, from there the Soviet Union, and from there on to Africa.

The list of countries Emilio toured in the following years--Tunisia, Libya, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone (where he was set upon by cannibals), Liberia, Congo, Zaire, Mozambique, Tanzania, Somalia (which he escaped from on an old freighter), Petra, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Nepal, China, Tibet, Singapore-- is practically endless, matched only by the list of adventures he had during his journey.

With over 300 photos, The Longest Ride takes the reader along on Emilio’s ride as he relives this amazing, record-breaking adventure of a lifetime.

From the Back Cover:

For his eighth birthday, Emilio Scotto’s mother bought him a world atlas. He told his mother that he would someday make a route that would pass through all the countries of the world. As an adult, through a melding of fate, karma, and luck, he got his hands on the most amazing machine: a black 1100 Honda Gold Wing motorcycle. “This will be my ticket to see the world,” he said to himself. With no money or credit cards, and zero travel experience, Emilio bid farewell to his family, hopped on his motorcycle, and headed into the unknown. Thus began a decade-long journey that landed him in the Guinness Book of World Records. Through words and photos, Emilio takes you on the journey of a lifetime in The Longest Ride.